Syed Qaiser Husain Naqvi, Jan Mohammad Memon, Noor Alam Ansari, Rafique Ahmed Memon, Anwar Ali Akhund.
Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in peripheral lymphadenopathy.
Pak J Surg Jan ;22(2):96-9.

Objective: To find out the accuracy and role of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in peripheral Lymphadenopathy. Design & Duration: Prospective and descriptive study from January 2002 to December 2005. Setting: Department of Pathology, Peoples Medical College, Nawabshah.. Patients: A total of 572 patients were included in the study, having age from 14 years to 72 years with peripheral lymphadenopathy. Methodology: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology was performed with a 22 gauge needle attached to a 10 ml syringe, without using any local anesthetic. Confirmation of the diagnosis by subsequent histopathology or clinical follow- up was mandatory. Results: 653 aspirates were obtained from 572 patients. The cytological diagnosis were: 255 (39.1%) cases of reactive hyperplasia, 174 (26.6%) tuberculous lymphadenitis, 84 (12.9%) suppurative inflammation, 57 (8.7%) Non Hodgkin`s lymphoma, 39 (6.0%) metastatic infiltration and 12 (1.8%) Hodgkin`s lymphoma; in nine (1.4%) patients the cytological diagnosis was uncertain and in 23 (3.5%) cases the material was inadequate. In 28 patients the cytological diagnosis was false negative and in three false positive. The overall accuracy was 95.3%. Conclusion: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology is an initial important diagnostic tool in patients having peripheral lymphadenopathy, especially in the rural areas where surgical facilities are not available. It is a safe, rapid, simple and accurate investigative tool with low morbidity.

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